Monday, December 21, 2009

What If the Book Is Still Being Written

Here is a thought for you; Is the book no longer being written? Have the final chapters been brought to their conclusion? Or is the story still being written in our day and age?

I am speaking about G-D's book. Jews see the ending of the book at about 400 years before Jesus and Christians have it somewhere after John writes revelation, but is that true? Have the final chapters been written or is G-D, even as I write this, getting ready to write some more words into the book?

What is history after all but literally the History of G-D and mans interaction with Him? What makes us think that the book is finished? History is still going on, writers are still writing, events large and small are still going on and G-D and the enemy of our souls are still putting their pieces into play, so what makes us think that the story is done?

Who can say that 1000 years from now someone out there won't be reading the very things that we have written about or have spoken of and consider those very things to be the words of G-D spoken again through man.It's just something to make you think, but I would humbly submit keep it in mind as well.

I don't think that the world as we know it will be here in a thousand years , we seem to be so stupid that we are bent on our own destruction, but just for the sake of argument lets say it did and that you knew for sure that the book was still being written. What would you say? What HAVE you said already? What thoughts and opinions have you expressed on paper or cyber space that you might not want people to remember you for? Kind of makes you think doesn't it.

Ask your self this; How many of the writers of the Bible knew that their words were going to be practically put on stone for future posterity? Most of them were writing as G-D told them to write, but what about the Psalms? David and others were expressing them selves, but did they know that it would all be there for all generations to see? Would they have written differently had they have known?
This is just some thoughts, weird things that I think about in the wee hours of the morning when I should be sleeping.

So how do you want to be remembered? Careful how you answer that , it's likely being recorded!

Shalom,
Ignacio

Sunday, December 20, 2009

What If We are Wrong ?

Back in the dark ages when I was a Marine, we always had this saying "It's the other guys fault!" I was in communications and it was real easy to get your connections screwed up. It didn't matter how well you planned something out, at some point something was going to go wrong and so when that happened it became the other guys fault. Now that wasn't always true, but if you could blame someone else for the problems at hand, even while your trying to fix the problem on your end, you at least could make yourself look good. The problem with this,as you can probably imagine, is that as long as everyone was pointing at each other saying that "they " are wrong and "we" are right, the truth of the matter wouldn't come out and communications would stay down.

So whats the point? Here is a simple question for you; What if "they" are right?
What do I mean? For most of my life I have listened to people argue and say that the Jews have it all wrong, that they missed the Messiah and then in the end they will recognize him and all will be saved, I am paraphrasing a a lot here, but the question remains the same; What if they are the ones that are right?

The other day I made a comment, thinking that I was correcting an error, that a Jewish person posted on line and I was blasted in all directions by those who were correcting me for my error! I must say that one lady there did come to my defense, she had gone to Catholic schools as a child so she knew where I was coming from, but everyone else jumped all over me. I was told everything from Jesus wasn't a real person, he wasn't G-D, to he was nothing but a religious metaphor,a story told to erring Jews to keep them in line! I was a bit humbled to say the least, to me I was correcting what I thought was an error in thought only to be put in my place!

So for the sake of argument, I did a google search and just typed in "Is Jesus real"
and I had many multiple hits saying that he wasn't real, or that he was real however he wasn't considered to be G-D until after the council of Nicea, and this being the time that they started adopting pagan holy days as well. The amount of material out there was somewhat staggering! Now I realize that you can find pretty much anything that your looking for on line, and like all forms of communications you have to look and see if someone has an agenda when they are writing, but does it make them wrong?

What I find to be interesting is that many Christians believe that the people of Israel are still G-D's children but still believe that they are wrong in their beliefs. Many understand the center of the world is not the USA but instead is the land of Israel and most will agree that the ushering in of the New kingdom and the Messianic age will happen in Israel. Yet will continue to say that they have it all wrong. Again my question; what if they are the ones that are right? What if it's us that have our communications all screwed up and while G-D has still blessed us, we are the ones that don't have it right?

Consider the history of the Jewish people. According to the Old Testament,they threw themselves at the foreign god's to the point of where G-d put them into captivity and spread them out all over the world. In finally returning to Israel they have become very pointed about only serving G-D. They have gone from a multiple god people to a one G-D people. What makes us so sure that we are right and they are wrong? We speak of a 3 in 1 G-D as a way to explain the Father, Son, and Holy ghost yet Jesus himself told his disciples to worship the Father and even told them how. The "holy Spirit came upon his disciples at Pentecost and they received power from G-D to do amazing things, but no one worships the Holy Spirit, So it comes back to worshiping one G-D. Again the question is asked; How is that they are wrong?

Here is a couple of text as well that might get you to thinking.

Zech. 8:23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days 10 men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that G-D is with you.

Jeremiah 16:19-20 O Lord my refuge and strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say; Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things.Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?

What do you suppose is meant by these verses and others like them? I tend to believe that it is we who are going to discover that we are wrong and we will turn to them and to G-D for the truth.

I am leaving you here, at this sort of awkward point. I am not here to make decisions for you and I don't have any cute cliche's to go with this. I just want you to think.

What if we are wrong and they are right?

Shalom,
Ignacio

Sunday, December 6, 2009

The Face Of G-D

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Have you ever REALLY looked at your own face ? If I asked you to describe yourself what would you say? I know for myself that I wouldn't be very nice in the process of describing myself, I would point out all my flaws and scars and my thinning graying hair. I wouldn't be very kind in my own description and I would imagine neither would you. But what if I asked you to describe a small child or a baby? I would be willing to bet that the compliments would be flowing. Even the ugliest of babies are beautiful in our eyes, yet as that baby grows up the descriptions get a bit less kind.

Here is the real question though; If I asked you to describe a homeless person sleeping on a park bench what would you say, or a prostitute or your worst enemy, How would you describe them? It's easy for us to make judgement calls on people who are different from us or who don't fit in with what we perceive to be right and wrong, but
what if I told you that you were looking at the face of G-D?

In Genesis 33 we have a story of reconciliation between Jacob and Esau. G-D tells Jacob that it is time for him to go home and he packs his bags and family and he leaves. When he finally sees Esau, after much prayer and literal wrestling with G-D, the brothers meet and fall on each other weeping. Here is the real kicker though, while Jacob is urging his brother to accept the gifts that were being given to him he says to him "...inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of G-D and you were pleased with me..."(Gen.33:10) He said that seeing Esau was like seeing the face of G-D! This was the man that Jacob had spent the last 20 years being afraid of. What should that say to us?

What would happen if instead of labeling everyone, we simply saw G-D's face on everyone we see?

As a friend of mine once put it, our faces are a reflection of what G-D saw on His own face when were born, in other words we are a reflection of G-D in that moment that he created us.

In the beginning of Genesis we are told that we have been made in the image and likeness of G-D. We can argue the semantics of whether or not that was a physical or spiritual thing, but what I would humbly submit to you that no matter which way you look at it , when you are looking at someone else you are looking at G-D's image reflecting back at you and as such we should be treating others that we see as if we were indeed in the presence of G-D. What a difference that would make in this world.If Jacob could do it when faced by the man who had threatened to kill him 20 years earlier, there is no reason that we can't.

G-D's commandments can be broken down to two very simple commands the first is to love Him with all our being, with every ounce of strength that He has given us and the other is to love our neighbors as ourselves. G-d never said our neighbors would be our friends or that they would be pretty, but He makes it easier for us to do by reminding us that His image is seen in the face of that neighbor.

Jacob did it and through the grace of G-D who lives with in us as well, we can say to our neighbor, or whoever,....I have seen you face as though I had seen the face of G-D!

Shalom,
Ignacio

Saturday, December 5, 2009

A Warning From Obadiah

Have you ever read the book of Obadiah? It is a short book in the Tenach only 21 verses long but it is packed with a powerful message of warning that is very appropriate for today. This warning is for "Edom" in particular but for the world in general, more specifically the world and people of Edom who rejoice over all the evil that has befallen Israel.

Who are the people of Edom? They are the children of Esau, Jacob's brother. It is the Arab and Muslim world that follow Islam, it is the so called Palestinians, it is all those people in the east who want nothing more then the destruction of Israel.

The "Nations" speaks for itself, Just look at the UN and all those nations that want nothing more than the destruction of Israel as well. Every time that Israel tries to defend itself from her enemies she has been roundly condemned at all levels. Sadly that would now include the United States that has been trying to divide up Israel and make it compromise her security. To try and make her give up the very land that G-D Himself gave to them.

Here is all 21 verses,
The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom
(We have heard a report from the LORD,
And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,

“ Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):
2 “ Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
You shall be greatly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4 Though you ascend as high as the eagle,
And though you set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” says the LORD.
5 “ If thieves had come to you,
If robbers by night—
Oh, how you will be cut off!—
Would they not have stolen till they had enough?
If grape-gatherers had come to you,
Would they not have left some gleanings?
6 “ Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!
How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!
7 All the men in your confederacy
Shall force you to the border;
The men at peace with you
Shall deceive you and prevail against you.
Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap[a] for you.
No one is aware of it.
8 “ Will I not in that day,” says the LORD,


“ Even destroy the wise men from Edom,
And understanding from the mountains of Esau?
9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed,
To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau
May be cut off by slaughter.
10 “ For violence against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you,
And you shall be cut off forever.
11 In the day that you stood on the other side—
In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,
When foreigners entered his gates
And cast lots for Jerusalem—
Even you were as one of them.
12 “ But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother
In the day of his captivity;[b]
Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudly
In the day of distress.
13 You should not have entered the gate of My people
In the day of their calamity.
Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction
In the day of their calamity,
Nor laid hands on their substance
In the day of their calamity.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads
To cut off those among them who escaped;
Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained
In the day of distress.
15 “ For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near;
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
16 For as you drank on My holy mountain,
So shall all the nations drink continually;
Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,
And they shall be as though they had never been.
17 “ But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance,
And there shall be holiness;
The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
And the house of Joseph a flame;
But the house of Esau shall be stubble;
They shall kindle them and devour them,
And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,”
For the LORD has spoken.
19 The South[c] shall possess the mountains of Esau,
And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.
They shall possess the fields of Ephraim
And the fields of Samaria.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel
Shall possess the land of the Canaanites
As far as Zarephath.
The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
Shall possess the cities of the South.[d]
21 Then saviors[e] shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

The warning from G-D through Obadiah says it all I am not going to try and elaborate on them, but I will say to all take heed of what is written in this book because it is a direct warning to all of us and to all nations that would try to trample on G-D's chosen people, Israel.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Grab It Like You Mean It

Back in the dark ages, when I went through boot camp for the Marines, we used to do what is known as "Manual of Arms" That was when the Drill Instructor would call out commands about how to hold the rifle and what position to put it in things like that.
An example would be that if they said to us "present arms" we knew to bring the rifle up to our fronts in a very specified manner and if we didn't we were "corrected" until we got it right!

One of the other commands was "Inspection Arms" and you would go through a process that would allow you to make sure that the weapon was empty and then the Drill Instructor would be able to inspect your weapon to make sure that it was clean to his satisfaction. One of the things that they taught us was that when it was time for the inspection, when the Drill Instructor reached for the weapon we were to let go of it just before his hands touched the rifle thus causing a rather pleasing "pop" when they grabbed it. Then once they were done inspecting it, they would hold it out in front of them and you were to take it back from them, however there was a small catch; You had to grab it back from them like you meant it! It wasn't enough to just grab it from them, you had to bring that left hand up hard and furious like you were angry, which might not be far from the truth by the time they got done with an inspection,and grab that weapon like you really meant to grab it! They wanted to hear the "pop" of your hand hitting the hand guard clear across the parade deck, "grab it like you mean it"!

So why tell you this? Simple really; Have you grasped a hold of the word of G-D like you really mean it? Have you hit your knees so hard on the floor that it echoed through out your house? Have you sought G-D with an intensity that would make a Drill Instructor smile? Have you grabbed a hold of G-D like you mean it?

Jer.29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think towards you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. AND YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME, WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART.

Drill Instructors didn't want wishy washy recruits they wanted men and women who would put their hearts into it and G-D is the same. He doesn't want people who just kind of go through the motions of prayer and worship, He wants people who will seek him with all their heart and mean it so much that the "pop" of their heart will be heard around the world. Like a recruit grabbing his rifle like he means it, grab a hold of the things of G-D like you mean it and let your "pop" be heard.

Shalom,
Ignacio